Bulldogs Ready to Launch 2009-10 Season

Nov 25, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Despite the graduation of
several talented athletes from last year, the Bulldogs are ready to
challenge themselves again this season. After a respectable
fourth-place finish at indoor Heptagonals Championships last year,
the Bulldogs will continue working on dominating multiple events
within their conference. As always, they expect to qualify a number
of individuals for NCAA post-season meets; l
ast season, five members advanced to the NCAA East Regional. The
first meet of the indoor season, the Lidlifter Invitational, will
take place at Coxe Cage on Dec. 5.

Sprints/Hurdles

The Bulldogs have constantly excelled in the sprints and hurdles
events in the past. In the 500-meter dash, seniors Remi Ray and David Soiles went
third and fourth, respectively, at indoor Heptagonals last season.
Ray also broke a long-standing Yale indoor record in the 500-meter
dash with a time of 1:02.09 at the Boston University Terrier
Invitational. Sophomore Matt Bieszard is
coming off of a promising first season, setting the Yale freshman
indoor record for the 400-meter dash in the finals of indoor
Heptagonals last season. The Bulldogs also gain a new standout
sprinter, freshman Josh Fuller, who
was Washington's three-time state champion in the 100-meter
dash and two-time champion in the 200-meter and 400-meter
dashes. In the hurdles, senior Ted Galligan looks
to progress even more after placing fourth in the 400-meter hurdles
at outdoor Heptagonals last season. He will also compete in the
60-meter hurdles and 110-meter hurdles this year.

Middle Distance

Senior Chris Labosky
returns in the 800-meter run, having placed fifth at outdoor
Heptagonals last year and qualifying for the NCAA Northeast
Regional two years ago. Sophomore Andrew Esposito
will also contribute in the 800-meter run, having competed in the
event at last year's indoor Heptagonals. Coming off of a successful
high school career in California, freshman Christopher
Ramsey will also specialize in the mid-distance events. The
Bulldogs will seek additional contributions from junior Itse Begho, sophomore
Charlie
Jaeger and freshman Timothy Hillas.

Distance

Despite the graduation of Jake Gallagher ‘09 and Murat
Kayali ‘09, who went fifth and seventh, respectively, in the
1500-meter run at last year's outdoor Heptagonals, the Bulldogs
return a youthful squad to compete in the distance events. Senior
captain Jeff
Perrella looks to excel in the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs
again this season. Perrella currently holds the eighth-fastest Yale
time of 14:22 in the 5,000-meter run for outdoors. Junior Max Walden also
earned All-East honors at indoor IC4As by placing sixth in the
5,000-meter run. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the Bulldogs
return junior Matt Bogdan and
sophomore Nathan Richards.
Richards placed seventh at outdoor Heptagonals last year to qualify
for the IC4As. In the shorter distances, senior Kevin Brown has
scored in the mile at indoor Heptagonals for two years in a row.
Sophomore Conor Dooney, who
sat out last season because of an injury, is coming off of a strong
cross-country season and will also contribute to the distance
squad, as will sophomore Julian
Sheinbaum.

Jumps

Holmes will aim for the long jump title at the Ivy League
Heptagonals this season after placing second for two years in a
row. He earned All-Ivy honors with a season best of 7.14 meters at
the conference meet; his personal best is currently 7.39 meters.
Freshman Tommy
Winger, who won Maine's state title in the long jump and
finished sixth in the New England Outdoor Track Championships, will
also specialize in that event. Senior Eric DePalo, who set
the No. 2 all-time best Yale jump in the pole vault and qualified
for the NCAA Division I Championships as a sophomore, should score
big points throughout the season as well. The Bulldogs will also
look to senior Bashir Adeniyi
and sophomore Yifan Chen to compete
in the jumps.

Throws

The Bulldogs have some big shoes to fill with the graduation of
standout thrower Jeff Lachman ‘09. Last season, Lachman
placed third in the discus throw at the NCAA Regional Championships
and finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Division I Championships.
The Bulldogs will now look to junior David Smith, who
competed in the weight throw and shot put at last year's indoor
Heptagonals. Freshman Mike Levine, who
made the farthest throw in the discus for the state of New York
last year, will also compete in the hammer and weight throws.

Relays

Both the 4x100 meter and 4x400 meter relays qualified for the
outdoor IC4A Championships last season. The 4x100 meter relay team
returns Holmes, junior Marty Evans and
junior Chris
Stanley. The squad placed third at outdoor Heptagonals last
year with a season best of 41.55. The 4x400-meter relay team has an
even larger pool of runners to choose from. At last season's indoor
IC4A Championships, Ray, Soiles, Bieszard and Evans set the
fourth-fastest time in the Yale record book for the 4x400 meter
relay. The 4x800-meter relay team, which has placed second at
indoor Heptagonals to earn All-Ivy honors for two consecutive
seasons, also holds high expectations.